We are special education attorneys advocating for educational equity for all in San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside across California. If you are experiencing issues related to your child’s educational rights, feel free to contact us.
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Every child is entitled to educational equity.
At the end of the day, a school district has an undeniable advantage when a parent challenges their child’s educational program. They have all the experts, they have all the staff, and they have all the money to pay for very large law firms to defend them when they do something wrong.
My goal has always been to put parents on an equal footing to be able to get the best for their children and ensure they are educated and become as independent as possible.
Matthew Storey, APC, (San Diego Special Education Lawyer)
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How We’re Different
Aggressive
We are known for being an aggressive law firm willing to take cases as far as necessary to protect the rights of children. We are one of the handful of law firms in California to argue before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
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Devoted
We are devoted to our clients because our firm has attorneys who have had personal experiences with the deficiencies in the special education system.
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Team Approach
Many law firms assign one attorney to a case. We believe it’s important to approach all cases as a team to encourage an encompassing approach where nothing is overlooked.
Special Education Attorneys
We are a special education law firm providing legal representation for families and children of all abilities in California, focusing on the areas of San Diego, Riverside & San Bernardino
Due Process
Our office has extensive experience successfully filing and defending complaints for due process in California.Federal Appeals
Our office has experience appealing decisions from the California Office of Administrative Hearings (“OAH”).
Legal Advocacy
Our office prides itself on making parents better advocates for their children. We also work with some of the best special education advocates San Diego has.
Meet our Special Education Attorneys
Our team has had personal experiences with the injustices of the special education system, making us uniquely qualified and especially empathetic to our clients. We understand the struggle, and it drives our passion to do everything in our power to protect the rights of children with special needs. We proudly serve all of California but mainly focus on Southern, specifically San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino.
Access the IEP Pocketbook Digitally!
We developed our IEP Pocketbook as a resource you can turn to at a moment’s notice to access information to effectively advocate for your child’s rights. While we want to make you as a strong of an advocate as possible for your child, know that you can and should always ask for help. We work some of the best and most experienced special education advocates San Diego offers.
The Storey Behind the Passion
For me, the path to becoming a special education attorney was straight forward. I vividly remember my family’s frustration with my brother’s education. He is a year younger than I and is diagnosed with cerebral palsy (“CP”), a group of neurological disorders that effect movement. CP, like many disabilities, is abroad spectrum. Some are able to move with relative ease, for others all movement may be virtually paralyzed, bound to a chair and require constant supervision for life. I suppose fortunately, my brothers is more the former. At one point, I recall my mother arguing with the school principal about my brother being placed in a room by himself with only a television. He must have been in the 2nd or 3rd grade, and apparently this had been going on for over a month with no notification to my parents. The principal told my mom the school did not have the ability to support my brother, and the room with a television was all they could do. My parents, not knowing they may have had other options, moved my brother to a private school.
To be clear this was illegal. There is a robust set of federal and state laws which require schools to provide an appropriate education to all children with disabilities. Unfortunately, all too often they are not followed.
When my brother was placed in a room by himself the school was clearly violating the law. What my parents may not have known at the time, was they were not required to just accept whatever the school offered my brother or place him at their own expense into a private school. When a parent disagrees with the IEP or its implementation they can file a complaint with the state department of education and have a judge determine whether or not the school is complying with the IDEA. I think, had I been their attorney at the time, either the school would have had to create an appropriate program or pay for my brother to attend a private school. A common outcome with cases as egregious.
We have helped thousands of students receive the education they are entitled to.
Case #1
A 12-year-old 7th grade student with dyslexia and ADHD was reading at the second grade level. Although he had an IEP, it failed to address his severe reading deficits. As he got older and realized how far behind he was from his peers, he became socially distant and depressed. We filed a case against the district and were successful in getting him to a private school that specializes in dyslexia and reading issues. He is currently doing great and on track to graduate high school!
Case #2
An 8-year-old boy with down syndrome had been placed by the district in a class for children who have severe behaviors, though he did not have any. He came home crying most days, would have marks and bruises from being hit in class, and often would refuse to go to school because he was scared of his classroom. We were able to get him moved into a general education class with a private 1:1 aide to provide him support and modify his curriculum throughout the day. He is doing amazing.